Two killed in explosion at scrap dealer’s shop

LUCKNOW - A scrap dealer and his son were killed in an explosion in their shop in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi district, police said Monday. Two people were injured in the incident.

The explosion took place in the Baruasagar area late Sunday. The scrap dealer, Govind Das, died Sunday itself while his son Jeetu succumbed to his injuries Monday morning, police inspector Udai Veer told reporters in Jhansi, some 300 km from here.

“Two of Govind’s family members, who were critically injured, are being treated at a hospital,” the officer said.

“Preliminary investigations suggest that the blast took place when the scrap dealer tried to hammer a shell to extract the brass,” he added.

Police are yet to ascertain from where the scrap was collected.

“We have sent the scrap for lab testing. We have also sought assistance of army officials in the case,” said Veer.

“As of now, the enquiry indicates that the scrap was not collected from Jhansi’s cantonment area,” he added.